Senna is a small shrub, Cassia angustifolia, now also classified as Senna alexandrina. Its dried leaves and pods contain sennosides, compounds used in laxative medicines and some herbal teas.
India is widely regarded as the main world supplier of senna leaves and pods. The crop suits the hot, dry conditions of parts of southern and western India, and it has been grown and traded there for a long time.
Where it is grown
Indian senna is often called Tinnevelly senna, after the old name of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, the traditional growing area. It is also grown in parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Alexandrian senna, traditionally from Egypt and Sudan, is the other name you will see in pharmacopoeias.
Senna is usually grown as a dryland crop, with leaves picked in more than one flush and pods collected as they mature. Harvest timing and the number of pickings vary by region and rainfall, so confirm the season and expected volume with your supplier each year.
Why India supplies so much
- Climate: senna does well on dry, light soils with limited rain, where few other crops pay.
- History: senna has been farmed and exported from southern India for a long time.
- Processing base: there are established units that dry, grade and pack leaves and pods, and that make extracts.
- Low input crop: it needs little water, which suits dryland farmers.
- Pharmaceutical demand: Indian extract makers buy locally, which supports the farm base.
Forms traded
- Whole leaves, graded by size, colour and cleanliness.
- Cut leaves and tea bag cut, for herbal teas.
- Leaf powder.
- Pods, whole or cut.
- Sennoside extracts and calcium sennosides, made by pharmaceutical suppliers.
Regulation matters more than price
Senna is treated as a medicine in many markets, and pharmacopoeias such as the European and US pharmacopoeias have monographs for senna leaf and pods. In food, the EU has restricted certain hydroxyanthracene derivatives, the group of compounds sennosides belong to. Rules differ by country and by product type, so confirm the current position with your medicines or food authority before you buy.
Senna for the medicine trade must usually come from suppliers who can provide full documentation and meet good manufacturing practice. For marker levels, see what sennoside content senna should have.
Quality points for buyers
- Botanical identity: confirm the species and that no other Cassia species are mixed in.
- Leaf grade: colour, leaf size and how much broken leaf and dust is present.
- Stems and foreign matter, with stated maximums.
- Sennoside content, by a stated method.
- Moisture and mould, since damp storage spoils the leaf.
- Heavy metals, pesticide residues and microbiology for your market.
- Documents: certificate of analysis, and GMP evidence where your use needs it.
Where we come in
We locate senna processors in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan, audit their drying and grading, and arrange sennoside and safety testing at NABL-accredited labs. Start with a free sourcing review.